The Record: Letters, Thursday, Jan. 23

The Bridgegate feeding frenzy has reached heights of political opportunism now bordering on the absurd, not to mention new depths of hypocrisy. Among the leading hypocrites are the Democratic freeholders in Bergen County, who are exploiting the traffic jam in Fort Lee and trying to somehow, beyond my amazement, blame it on County Executive Kathleen Donovan.

The Democrats, led by Freeholder Chairman David Ganz, are attempting to pillory Donovan for not launching an investigation into what just about everyone believed was nothing more than an unfortunate traffic jam caused by the bumbling Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The Ganz position is rife with hypocrisy because he has been saying for the past three years that the freeholders are equal partners with the county executive in governing the county. What was stopping him from picking up the telephone over the last four months and calling the Port Authority himself to learn more about the traffic jam?

What was stopping some of the other freeholders, including Joan Voss, who comes from Fort Lee, from convening their own investigation four months ago? Could it be that they simply had no real interest in the matter until it became a media circus? Could it be that they are now acting out of pure politics because Donovan is up for reelection?

Jim Lenoy

Carlstadt, Jan. 22

The writer, a Republican, serves on the Carlstadt Borough Council.

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The truth always comes out, or at least we hope it does.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer's revelation is being heavily questioned for its timing.

Yes, she could have made it up just when Governor Christie is under suspicion and released it because he is now vulnerable. Or she could have held back last spring feeling that Christie was invulnerable and an allegation would have gotten lost in the campaign run-up to the election. I can hear him saying it now, "Oh, she's just saying that to hurt me in the election."

Truth is truth, and it is neither early nor late. There are a thousand possible scenarios for those with vivid imaginations, but there is only one truth.

Maywood Councilman Derek Eisenberg excoriated Republicans for comparing the bridge scandal to those regarding the Internal Revenue Service, the National Security Agency, the Fast and Furious episode and Benghazi.

But there are similarities. There were innocent victims in all five matters. Freedom of speech and freedom of association for thousands were imperiled by the IRS and NSA schemes. Innocents died in Benghazi and because of the guns scattered about by Operation Fast and Furious, though admittedly due to incompetence rather than political retribution.

There was also a great deal of obfuscation in all of the scandals and a great deal of media coverage with the usual political undertones and overtones.

Tom Scerbo

Glen Rock, Jan. 22

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Regarding "Guadagno and the Hoboken mayor" (Your Views, Jan. 21):

I have an answer for a letter writer who wondered about why it took Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer so long to come forward. I believe what the mayor is saying, and I can relate and understand her taking so long.

Someone with the power of Governor Christie can destroy you and crush you because he has the power. Have you seen how he talks to people when they ask questions that he doesn't like? I would have second thoughts going up against him.

There is no way Zimmer would be lying with her journal. And I think a letter writer who joked about Santa Claus should hold those comments, because this is not a joking matter.

Valerie Wilson

Paterson, Jan. 22

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Regarding "Bridgegate focus is appropriate" (Your Views, Jan. 23):

In reading letters making comparisons between Bridgegate and other incidents, such as the flawed rollout of healthcare.gov, I was struck by how some readers explained the difference: The healthcare.gov issues were an example of incompetence, where nothing sinister or deliberate took place. But Bridgegate was an example of a corrupt, deliberate act of political retribution.

While that may be, what is it that these readers are trying to say? Is incompetence OK, or at least tolerable when compared with corruption? Has the bar been lowered that far? Incompetence can have as many negative consequences as corruption, as we have unfortunately seen countless times.

I doubt that these readers would take kindly to a "well-intentioned" doctor botching his or her surgery. How much incompetence would you get away with at work before getting a pink slip? Let's start expecting more of our political leaders, whether their misdeeds are examples of corruption, incompetence or both. They need to be held accountable regardless. We have too many problems to solve in our country to expect any less.

Matt Pizzano

Cedar Grove, Jan. 23

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Letter writers who have passionately criticized The Record for its extensive coverage of the George Washington Bridge lane closures baffle me. It is an important story that affects every New Jersey resident, directly or indirectly.

Further, conflating Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service disclosures and Bridgegate is like blaming an apple for not being a banana. As I understand it, The Record's mission is to cover primarily local matters, which includes, of course, our state.

Benghazi and the IRS matters are more than adequately covered by news organizations with a mission to report on national and world issues.

Edna K. Meyer

Ridgewood, Jan. 23

Column on death

reaffirmed life

Regarding "Death — What it teaches us about the meaning of life" (Other Views, Jan. 17):

The life-affirming column by Erika Hayasaki really overwhelmed me.

Her experience of trying to grasp the horrors, miseries and random tragedies that newspaper reporters have to cover led her at one point to state, "I don't know if I will ever understand."

Yet she is uplifted by the teachings of Professor Norma Bowe of Kean University, who stresses that a life guided by nurturing virtues such as hope normally indicates how one will pass through the aging process and one's final days: If one is lacking hope, one will have despair; if one has hope, one will end with a sense of fulfillment and "letting go."

Hayasaki then contrasts these thoughts with the transcendent moment of her daughter's birth. Her previous anxiety over wanting and having children, over raising a child in this world "with such dark corners," evaporates at the end of the nine-month gestation and the end of the pre-born development of her curly-haired daughter.

Her daughter was her "leap of faith," and she now understands. One is reminded of the biblical command: "I set before you life and death; therefore, choose life."

As a staff member of New Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Englewood, I see daily this contrast between difficult situations and women declaring soon after the birth, "This baby is the joy of my life."

Hope and trust are a major part of the solution to unplanned pregnancies and to a sense of fulfillment in life, from womb to tomb.

You made a poor decision in sending a restaurant critic to White Castle. Your reviewer thinks White Castle is greasy? No, they are steam-grilled, and their double cheeseburgers stack up to any other chain.

Send the restaurant critics to where they belong, discussing $130 martinis, not food that real people eat.

The Record: Letters, Thursday, Jan. 23

The Bridgegate feeding frenzy has reached heights of political opportunism now bordering on the absurd, not to mention new depths of hypocrisy. Among the leading hypocrites are the Democratic freeholders in Bergen County, who are exploiting the traffic jam in Fort Lee and trying to somehow, beyond my amazement, blame it on County Executive Kathleen Donovan.

The Democrats, led by Freeholder Chairman David Ganz, are attempting to pillory Donovan for not launching an investigation into what just about everyone believed was nothing more than an unfortunate traffic jam caused by the bumbling Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The Ganz position is rife with hypocrisy because he has been saying for the past three years that the freeholders are equal partners with the county executive in governing the county. What was stopping him from picking up the telephone over the last four months and calling the Port Authority himself to learn more about the traffic jam?

What was stopping some of the other freeholders, including Joan Voss, who comes from Fort Lee, from convening their own investigation four months ago? Could it be that they simply had no real interest in the matter until it became a media circus? Could it be that they are now acting out of pure politics because Donovan is up for reelection?

Jim Lenoy

Carlstadt, Jan. 22

The writer, a Republican, serves on the Carlstadt Borough Council.

*

The truth always comes out, or at least we hope it does.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer's revelation is being heavily questioned for its timing.

Yes, she could have made it up just when Governor Christie is under suspicion and released it because he is now vulnerable. Or she could have held back last spring feeling that Christie was invulnerable and an allegation would have gotten lost in the campaign run-up to the election. I can hear him saying it now, "Oh, she's just saying that to hurt me in the election."

Truth is truth, and it is neither early nor late. There are a thousand possible scenarios for those with vivid imaginations, but there is only one truth.

Maywood Councilman Derek Eisenberg excoriated Republicans for comparing the bridge scandal to those regarding the Internal Revenue Service, the National Security Agency, the Fast and Furious episode and Benghazi.